method used to form single crystal semiconductor substrates; alternative to CZ crystal growth process; polycrystalline material (typically in the form of a circular rod) is converted into single-crystal by zone heating (zone melting) starting at the plane where single crystal seed is contacting polycrystalline material; used to make Si wafers; results in very high purity (i.e. very high resistivity) single crystal Si; does not allow as large Si wafers as CZ does (200 mm and 300 mm); radial distribution of dopant in FZ wafer not as uniform as in CZ wafer; wafers used in high-end Si microelectronics are almost uniquely CZ grown.

Czochralski crystal growth, CZ

process of obtaining single-crystal solids; the most common method for obtaining large diameter semiconductor wafers (e.g. 300 mm Si wafers); single crystal material is pulled out of the melt in which single-crystal seed is immersed and then slowly withdrawn; desired conductivity type and doping level is accomplished by adding dopants to the melt.

Bridgman growth

A method used to grow single-crystal semiconductors typically III-V, e.g. GaAs; uses multi-zone furnace in which Ga and As are contained in the ampule and in contact with GaAs seed; the GaAs melt is passed from higher to lower temperature zone; conceptually similar to float-zone (FZ) crystal growth method.